Blind Date, The

FARCE. This fast-paced show has a host of off-the-wall characters and endless opportunities to showcase physical humor. Barney Bumblestoop, a shy and awkward copyeditor, nervously arrives at a fancy restaurant eager to impress his blind date, who happens to be his bossís daughter. The restaurantís owner assures Barney that his staff will pull out all the stops to ensure that the couple enjoys a first-class dining experience. To create a romantic ambiance, the restaurantís musician serenades the couple by playing a toy piano in the background while a creepy water girl with a bad cold loudly sniffles and coughs as she refills their water glasses. The couple also encounters a flirtatious wine steward, an overzealous new waitress, and the restaurantís egotistical, ill-tempered chef. To top off the evening, one of the customers accidentally chokes on some bread and dies. In a fit of panic and not wanting to ruin Barneyís date, the restaurant owner rushes over and strangles the customerís wife and the wait staff quickly drag both bodies into the kitchen!

Forrest Musselman has published nearly two dozen plays. Mr. Musselman teaches English and Theatre Arts at Rushford-Peterson High School in Rushford, MN, and lives in southeastern Minnesota with his wife and two children.